Birds were up earlier than the students on a Sunday morning, chirping away noisily as they perched on the trees facing the sun.
Dong Jiang University did a good job in greening the campus as there were a lot of groves in the campus. There was one beside Block 8 of the girls’ dorm, and students who stayed below the third floor would be forced out of their sleep early in the morning almost every day by this natural alarm. It was the worst for some of the rooms that face directly at the branches as the birds would hop onto the windowsills once in a while and peck at the windows.
“For crying out loud!!”
Complaints and groans would be heard everywhere on weekends, including this day. Li Qiu Wen of Room 224 pressed her pillow over her ears, trying to stop the noise from interrupting her sleep, but to no avail. Eventually, she yelled in frustration and as she threw her pillow away and kicked the covers off, she saw her roommate Gao Ge lying on the bed, smiling happily with her phone in her hands.
“What’s making you smile this early in the morning?” Li Qiu Wen asked, her hair messy.
“Nothing.” Gao Ge jumped off her bed and pushed the window open. The chirping noise grew louder than ever and swarmed into the room.
“I’m going crazy!” Li Qiu Wen ruffled her hair, got out of bed and headed to the washroom lazily.
She stepped out of the washroom seconds later with her toothbrush dangling between her lips to see Gao Ge standing beside the window. Her smile, which seldom appeared, was now lit up by the morning sunlight, making it look more vibrant. It was like she was glowing all over.
“Something must be up.” Li Qiu Wen approached Gao Ge and mumbled while brushing her teeth.
“Five.” Gao Ge said, turning to Li Qiu Wen.
“What do you mean?” Li Qiu Wen didn’t get her meaning.
“My team has five people now.” Gao Ge said.
“Oh…” Li Qiu Wen didn’t look impressed as she muttered with her mouth full of foam: “Is that it? This isn’t the first time your team has five people, but what became of it in the end?”
“This time might be different.” Gao Ge said.
“Oh?” Li Qiu Wen and Gao Ge were not only classmates, they were also roommates and good friends for two years. Although Li Qiu Wen wasn’t a player of The King’s Glory, she knew more about Gao Ge than everyone else. She understood how hard it was for Gao Ge in the school, and how torturing it was for her to find enough players for her team. No matter how hard she tried, nothing good came out of her efforts. Li Qiu Wen also knew how bad Gao Ge’s image was damaged since no one was even asking her out despite her good looks.
How did this happen? Li Qiu Wen had no idea. She never understood what was the fun in that weird game where you have to control a bunch of characters in weird costumes. However, she understood that Gao Ge loved the game more than anyone else, and it was the only thing that could make her smile. Li Qiu Wen, dazzled by Gao Ge’s smile, forgot that she was still brushing her teeth.
“What are you looking at?” Gao Ge said.
“Marry me!” Li Qiu Wen took one step forward and said.
“Your toothpaste is running out of your mouth.” Gao Ge pushed Li Qiu Wen’s head away.
“We should ask those losers in the club to stand outside here and look at your dazzling smile. I’m sure you’d be chosen as the president of the club one week later after they see how attractive you are!” Li Qiu Wen said.
“That’s lame.” Gao Ge didn’t look interested.
“You busy today? Want to go shopping?” Li Qiu Wen looked up at the bright sky and asked.
“I’ll pass. I have to work on the arrangements for our new member.” Gao Ge said.
“You always look forward to what will happen when there’s a new member in the picture, and what became of that? Why are you stupid and naive like Zhou Mo?” Li Qiu Wen said.
“It’s not the same this time.” Gao Ge said.
“Hmph, you always say that.” Li Qiu Wen walked away with her toothbrush and came back with a towel in her hands after rinsing her mouth.
“Tell me what’s so special about this newbie that made you have faith?” Li Qiu Wen could tell how excited Gao Ge was just by looking at how she was smiling with her phone in her hand just now.
“You’d know in the future. I have to go.” However, Gao Ge didn’t have the heart to continue talking to Li Qiu Wen. She turned away from the window, grabbed her phone and coat and left, leaving Li Qiu Wen standing there.
“Why is she in such a hurry?” Li Qiu Wen mumbled under her breath. She glanced out the window and when she saw who was down there, she got mad.
“Zhou Mo! I knew it!” She yelled.
“Huh?” Zhou Mo looked up at Li Qiu Wen, confused.
“I haven’t called yet…” Zhou Mo explained, lifting his phone up.
“Gao Ge is already heading down.” Li Qiu Wen said, waving her hand.
“Okay. Thanks.” Zhou Mo waved back.
“Why are you thanking me?” Li Qiu Wen said.
Before Zhou Mo could figure out why, Li Qiu Wen already disappeared from the window. He turned to see Gao Ge approaching.
“Morning. Have you had breakfast?” Zhou Mo greeted Gao Ge.
“Nope.” Gao Ge said.
“Let’s go. I’ll treat you to dumplings.” Zhou Mo said.
“Ooh, dumplings. I want some too.” Li Qiu Wen poked her head out from the window yet again.
“Huh?” Before Zhou Mo could reply, Gao Ge said to her: “I’ll bring you some later.”
“I’m not eating leftovers!” Li Qiu Wen yelled before disappearing again. She appeared down the building in a few seconds.
“Thanks for the treat.” Li Qiu Wen bowed at Zhou Mo in gratitude, but when she lifted her head she was greeted with Zhou Mo’s awkward face.
“Wow, are you for real right now? You don’t look stingy at all! A few dumplings won’t cost you a lot!” Li Qiu Wen was upset to see Zhou Mo’s unwilling face.
“Um… I … don’t have enough money on me right now…” Zhou Mo said, embarrassed.
“Seriously? You’re that poor?” Li Qiu Wen was shocked.
Zhou Mo sighed. He sacrificed his money for the sake of Team Lang Qi by treating Li Si Jie and Zhao Jin Ran to meals, just so he could persuade them to join the team. He was way over his budget.
“Okay, fine, I’ll treat you both.” Li Qiu Wen said generously.
“Is that really okay?” Zhou Mo said, his face red.
“Why isn’t it okay? I’m treating you because of Gao Ge, remember that.” Li Qiu Wen said.
“Thanks.” Zhou Mo said.
“Okay, let’s go.” Li Qiu Wen said and led the way. Gao Ge and Zhou Mo, who were walking behind her with their phones in their hands, exchanged looks.
“You received it too?” Zhou Mo said.
“Yeah.” Gao Ge nodded.
“What does it say?” Zhou Mo asked.
“Mo Xian said: We should seek common ground while reserving differences.” Gao Ge answered. That was the message she received from He Yu in the morning. Zhou Mo received an identical one.
“I remember He Yu said the same thing to you as well.” Zhou Mo said.
“Yes.” Gao Ge nodded.
“Which means… we found yet another reliable teammate?” Zhou Mo said in disbelief.
“Yes… plus, he’s super strong.” Gao Ge said with a smile.
“We can look forward more towards the inter school tournament now!” Zhou Mo said in excitement.
“We should improve on our Jungular position.” Gao Ge said calmly despite her joy.
“So you’re saying we should let Mo Xian play as support?” Zhou Mo said.
“That’s the only empty position in our team, isn’t it?” Gao Ge said.
“Um… okay.” Zhou Mo nodded.